


Just Another Harry Potter Re-Sort

by Harlando



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adults are shit to Harry, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Animagus, Because the Dursley's are assholes, Bisexual Harry Potter, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Canonical Character Death, Dark Magic, F/F, F/M, Harry doesn't feel hunger, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, No beta we die like the basilisk, Not Beta Read, Occlumency (Harry Potter), Oops, Quidditch-sexual Harry Potter, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Slytherin Harry Potter, Tags May Change, Werewolves, but that's pretty much canon, just a tiny bit, past cedric/harry, sleep is for the weak
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:55:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harlando/pseuds/Harlando
Summary: Harry Potter has to get resorted after getting (temporarily) expelled. He warns his friends that he may end up in Slytherin and they are cool with it? After hearing Umbridge's "welcome" speech, Harry decides to take the sorting hats warning to heart. All the houses need to band together against threats both inside the school and out. Harry's lack of respect of authority (because really, what has anyone in authority ever done for him?) leads him to realize that he needs to be on his own side.I am trying to stick close to canon events, but obviously some things will change.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Eventually - Relationship, Harry Potter & Severus Snape, Harry Potter & Slytherin Students, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom & Harry Potter
Comments: 47
Kudos: 584





	1. Chapter 1

"He was expelled from Hogwarts. It was all over. He was never going back."

  * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page 27



_______

"Booklists arrived." Mrs. Weasley announced as she handed Ron and Harry their letters with their laundry. "Dumbledore sure left it last minute. The train leaves in two days!" Mrs. Weasley started back into the hall. "Now where did Ginny run off to?"

Relieved at the proof that he was indeed returning to Hogwarts and not expelled, Harry opened his Hogwarts letter expecting the usual reminder that the train left on September 1st. What he got instead made his heart freeze and chest tighten. He couldn't get enough air! 

Harry didn't hear Fred and George apparate next to him. Didn't hear them explain to Ron they heard using their extendable ears how much trouble Dumbledore was having hiring a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Harry finally forced himself to breathe when Ron tapped his shoulder and lifted a Prefect badge.

"Harry! Ron! Do you have your letters?" Hermione bounded in, holding up her own prefect badge.

Harry forced a smile. "Congratulations Ron, Hermione!"

"Ron got picked Prefect?" Fred looked back and forth between Ron and Harry. "But Harry-"

George had been reading Harry's letter over his shoulder. He lifted Harry's letter out of his shaking hands.  _ When did his hands start shaking? _ Harry thought.

"Harry has to be re-sorted." George said.

"What?! But why?" Ron questioned, all thoughts of being named Prefect forgotten. "Harry won. All charges were dropped." 

"But he was expelled first." Hermione whispered. "Harry had to be re-enrolled."

"Oh Merlin!" Harry groaned. He sat down on the floor and out his head between his knees. All summer his emotions had been a roller coaster of panic, apathy, anger, relief, and guilt. He had hoped going to Hogwarts would put an end to the cycle, that he could go back to normal. But now he may not be going back to Gryffindor tower, his home.

Ron dropped down next to Harry. "You'll get back into Gryffindor, no problem! You did it once, you can do it again!" 

"Do you remember my first sorting? How long it took for the hat to decide?" Harry spoke to his knees.

"Honestly, no. Everything was so exciting that first night. It's all kind of a blur."

"I remember." George sat down on Harry's left.

"What was the other house the hat wanted to put you in?" Fred asked.

"... Slytherin" 

Ron gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze.

"The hat wanted to put us there too." George mused.

"Really?" Harry looked up at George. The tightness in his chest loosening.

"Sure did." Fred answered. "But self preservation isn't our strength."

George chuckled. "When we were eleven we'd sacrifice anything, including ourselves, for a good joke!"

"Now we know you can try anything if you have enough nerve."

"But you can only get away with it if you have a good plan."

Ron stared at his brothers. "Do you think you'd sort the same now?"

Fred shrugged. "Only the hat knows that. What makes a good Gryffindor at eleven may make a terrible one at seventeen."

"Everyone does a lot of growing up in seven years at Hogwarts." George knocked his knee against Harry's. "Do you feel like the same Harry now as you did when you were eleven?"

"No."

"This is so stupid!" Hermione shouted. "Why sort at all? No one perfectly fits perfectly into one house's traits. Sorting just creates stereotypes and rivalries. Do you know before I met Neville on the train I was having a wonderful time with Hannah Abbott? We even made study plans! After we sorted I've spoken with her maybe three times in four years. I've talked to Pansy Parkinson, who keeps insulting me, more than Susan because we share more classes with Slytherin than Hufflepuff!"

"Breathe Hermione!" Ron interrupts before she can go off on a tangent. "Focus. How are we going to help Harry?"

Everyone is silent for a moment, thinking. 

"Well, I can't stop the hat from putting me where it wants." Harry wraps his arms around his knees. Despair creeping inside his chest, making it hard to breathe again.

Ron wrapped an arm over Harry's shoulders. "No matter what house you're in, I'll always be your friend." 

Hermione hugged Harry. "We're with you Harry. Until the very end."

"Hand me your book lists and I'll ask Arthur and Remus to run out to Diagon Alley - oh!" Mrs. Weasley came back in and saw the five of them sitting together on the ground. "Everyone alright?"

"Yes, I think we will be." Harry looked at his friends with a shy smile. "Oh yeah, Ron and Hermione made Prefect!"

Mrs. Weasley squealed in delight. "This calls for a party to celebrate!" She pulled Ron and Hermione towards the kitchen, immediately asking what kind of pudding they'd prefer. 

Fred tapped his chin. "If you do end up in Slytherin, do you mind helping us spread the word on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"

Harry chuckled. "Of course! What kind of investor would I be if I didn't spread the good word?"

George ruffled Harry's hair. "Brilliant!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Sirius have a heart to heart.

Mrs. Weasley had put together quite the celebration on short notice. Most members of the Order had joined in. As a surprise for making Prefect, Mr. Weasley gave Ron a new broom. Ron spent most of the party telling anyone who would listen about his new Cleansweep. Fred and George were whispering in the corner with Mundugus to purchase supplies for their new candy inventions. Hermione was quizzing Remus and Kingsley about their experiences as Prefects. Most everyone was enjoying the party.

Harry nearly crashed into Sirius, distracted from his latest encounter with Moody. Somehow he got the idea to show Harry a picture of the original Order of the Phoenix and cheerfully describe how everyone had been killed or tortured. 

“Whoa, everything alright Harry?” Sirius caught Harry by the shoulders. 

“Can we talk? Somewhere private?”

“Sure thing.”

Sirius led Harry up to the drawing room with the family tapestry and guided him to the settee. 

“Now, what’s got you so worried?”

Harry had already decided to tell Sirius about the re-sorting before he had to go back to Hogwarts. He desperately wanted Sirius’s support, and he knew he wasn’t going to get it by hiding. Harry gave himself a small but sure nod, then pulled his letter out of his pocket and gave it to Sirius. “Read this.” Harry nervously tapped his fingers on his knees waiting for Sirius’s reaction.

After a minute of quiet Sirius gently put his hands over Harry’s, putting a stop to the tapping. Harry held his breath and looked up. “Harry, I’m proud of you no matter what house you’re in. James would be too. I’m guessing by your reaction you already have an idea which house you’ll be in?”

“The hat wanted me in Slytherin, but I convinced it not to.”

“Isn’t that cunning of you?” Sirius smiled “Although that’s not a surprise.”

“Really?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“No. It’s just one more thing that separates you from James and makes you Harry. James had the heart of a Hufflepuff.”

Harry’s heart gave a big thump in his chest. “So you’re really okay with this? I worried, er, with your family and everything.”

“Of course! I didn’t hate my family because they were in  _ Slytherin _ . I hated them for being power hungry, abusive, manipulative bigots!” Sirius huffed. “What did your experience with Peter teach you?”

“Stun an animagus prisoner so they don't transform and escape?”

"HA!" Sirius guffawed. "That's  _ one _ lesson I think we all need to remember. But I was thinking more that one house doesn't have a monopoly on evil."

"Right. Wormtail was in Gryffindor but still followed Voldemort."

"Exactly. The world isn't divided into good people and Slytherins anymore than good people and Death Eaters. No one is just one thing. Everyone has light and dark, fear and courage. What matters are our choices. Which begs the question, what do you want?"

Harry's thoughts turned to the night at the graveyard. He chose to stand up and fight instead of cower. Cedric chose fairness and took the cup with him. Harry remembered Dumbledore's speech at the farewell feast, the choice between what is right and what is easy. So what were his choices now? He could take the easy route and try to beg the hat again, although Harry doubted it would work. Easy would be to keep his head down and spend as much time out of the common room as possible. But that felt too much like the exile he experienced at the Dursley’s. So what would be the  _ right _ choice?

“With the way things are at Hogwarts now, Slytherins don’t get many choices. They are all painted with the same tarnished brush, that they are Death Eaters in training. But that’s not right, is it?”

“No, it’s not. So what are you going to do about it?”

“I want to do more than just survive Slytherin, I want to do well. Maybe I can actually use my fame,” Harry rolled his eyes, “and show the other houses that there is more to Slytherin than being a Dark Lord.”

“That’s quite ambitious of you.” Sirius smirked. 

Harry looked over at the tapestry, his eyes lingered over Regulus Black. “Did you brother tell you anything about what it’s like? I need to know what I’m getting into, any special politics to look out for.”

“Yes, Regulus did share some about his time in Slytherin before I ran away. It didn’t sound that different from life in Gryffindor. Kids and teenagers hanging out, doing homework, the occasional party. I was disappointed by the lack of pranking though. But no major politics or hierarchy to speak of, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh thank Merlin.”

“I’m happy to help in any way I can, Harry.”

“Thank you, for everything. Er, just to be on the safe side, do you think you can show me a way to protect my belongings in my trunk?”

“Sure thing, I know just the runes for it! Whenever James and I had a prank war we’d keep our ideas hidden. We were both quite talented with locking runes and wards by sixth year!”


	3. Chapter 3

“I’ll make Goyle do lines, it’ll kill him, he hates writing,” said Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle’s low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. “ _ I…must...not...look...like...a...baboon’s….backside…” _

  * Order of the Phoenix page 189



________

Neville, Hermione, and Ginny laughed, but Luna Lovegood (4th year Ravenclaw and friend of Ginny) slid out of her seat with a scream of mirth. 

Harry stared at the English countryside rushing past the train window trying to come to terms with his conversation with Sirius the day before. He’d been distracted all day, barely registering when someone was speaking to him. An hour into the train ride his friends decided to let him stew in his own thoughts. Harry had already told Ron and Hermione some of what he and Sirius talked about. He explained that there is a Prophecy held in the Department of Mysteries that Voldemort wanted. What he didn't explain was that it was the Prophecy that made Voldemort kill his parents. That his real target has been Harry all along. 

There was absolutely nothing new about Voldemort trying to kill Harry. He had tried to kill him almost every year at school. Over the summer Harry supposed Voldemort wanted him dead because he took his numerous failed murder attempts as a personal insult. While Sirius didn't know exactly what the Prophecy said, he knew enough that it meant Voldemort would not stop trying to kill Harry until he succeeded.

Sirius also explained that Dumbledore didn’t want Harry to know about the Prophecy. Most of the Order knew that Voldemort wanted a Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. They had all taken shifts guarding the entrance. Sirius and Remus knew as much as they did about the Prophecy from Lily and James before they went into hiding. Harry appreciated that Sirius didn’t keep secrets from Harry about Harry’s life. He had a right to know, after everything he’d been through. Harry wasn’t a child, he hadn’t been in a long time. He had been ready to die to defend his friends multiple times. Harry would do it again, too. But the more he knew, the better he could actually defend everyone. Maybe one day do more than just defend and survive.

The compartment door opened, interrupting his thoughts. The sight of Draco Malfoy smirking, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, made his stomach churn with nerves. He knew this moment was coming, and he needed Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins on their back foot so they wouldn’t curse him on sight later. Harry took a deep breath, squashing the nerves back. 

“Welcome to our humble compartment, Malfoy. Did you need something?” Malfoy froze. “The trolley witch came by not too long ago and we have a few spare chocolate frogs, would any of you like one?”

Crabbe and Goyle nodded eagerly. 

“Here you go.” Harry gently tossed two frogs towards the boys, easy enough to catch. “Malfoy?”

“It’s nice to see you finally learned some manners, Potter.” Malfoy drawled. “Keep them up or I’ll have to give you detention. You see, I, unlike you, have been made a Prefect-”

“Then congratulations are in order. I’m sure your parents are proud. If you don’t want a chocolate frog, maybe you’d like a pumpkin pasty?” Harry tossed a treat to Malfoy and continued. “I’m just glad to be going back to Hogwarts at all, personally.” 

Hermione checked her watch. “Would you look at the time! We’d best be changing into our robes soon.”

“Right-” Malfoy looked around the compartment, smirk gone and eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “We’ll just head back to ours then.” Malfoy then locked eyes with Harry. “Watch your step, Potter. I’ll be  _ dogging _ you this year.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “As long as you don’t  _ rat _ me out to your father, I’m not too worried.”

The compartment door shut and a heavy silence settled. Neville unfroze first. “Can someone explain-”

“What the FUCK just happened?” Ginny shouted.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke down laughing, clutching their sides. 

“I may be nice to Malfoy all the time if that’s the reaction we get!” Ron crowed.

“He attracted quite a few wrackspurts.” Luna hummed. 

“Good enough reason to be nice, I suppose.” Ginny shrugged. “But one wrong move and he gets a Bat-Bogey hex.”

“Fair enough, Gin.” Ron patted his sister on the shoulder.

“Just keep an open mind.” Harry smiled, “I have a feeling that a lot more changes are coming.”

Laughter faded as they all rummaged through their trunks for robes. As soon as the train stopped Hermione dragged Ron to guide the first years off the train.

Neville, Ginny, Luna, and Harry headed off towards the horseless carriages. Except they weren’t horseless anymore. Harry froze as he stared at the black skeletal winged horses. Someone whispered in his ear, “They’ve always been there.” 

“Have they?” Harry quickly turned and faced Luna. 

“Let’s get in the carriage before we’re left behind.” Ginny bumped his shoulder. The four crammed in, Harry refused to look out the window.

“Harry, why are your robes all black?” Neville asked.

Harry looked down at his uniform, nerves clashing again. “Well you see, um, over the summer, er, I got in trouble for using magic around muggles. Um, and I was briefly, er, expelled by the ministry.”

“You were expelled.”

“Briefly.”

“And that turned your robes black?”

“Well, since I was expelled, however briefly, er, I had to be re-enrolled. Which means I also have to, um, be re-sorted.”

“Oh.”

“Yep.”

“So is that why, back on the train?” Ginny asked. “That’s why you were nice to Malfoy?”

“I may not end up back in Gryffindor.” Harry answered. “At the least I need fewer enemies in other houses. Maybe even gain some new friends.” Harry smiled at Luna. 

Luna blinked. “Do you like Plimplies?”

“Never heard of them, what are they like?”


	4. Chapter 4

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall's voice carried through the entrance hall. The current of students streaming through the front doors quickly split, eager to stay out of trouble.

"Good evening, Professor."

"Follow me." Harry walked in her wake, into the Great Hall. She led him through to the side chamber where the Triwizard Champions had gathered after the Goblet of Fire spat their names.

"Now, as you are aware, you need to be re-sorted."

"Yes."

"You have the option to do it privately, here in this room, or in front of everyone in the Great Hall like the first years." 

Harry waited. 

"In your correspondence you elected to sort in front of the school."

"Yes."

"Are you absolutely sure, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes.”

Professor McGonagall didn't move. They stare at each other as the sound of students filling the hall filter into the room.

“You're not coming back to Gryffindor.”

"It's been an honor and a privilege, Professor."

"The honor is all mine, Harry." Professor McGonagall smiled. She walked to the door, then stopped and turned. “Wait here while I get the first years sorted. I’ll call you up at the end.”

Harry moved to the door and opened it just enough to see out into the Great Hall. He searched and found Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table near the open spaced for incoming first years. 

The Sorting Hat began his song. This year instead of describing the different houses, it gave a warning of danger outside the castle and called for unity within. McGonagall then started calling up the new students one by one. Harry listened while looking around the hall. He choked on his breath when he saw Umbridge, a woman from his hearing at the Ministry, sitting at the head table. Why would the Undersecretary to the Minister be at Hogwarts?

“Congratulations to our new students! I hope you make your new houses proud.” McGonagall’s voice rang through the hall, interrupting Harry's thoughts. “Due to… unexpected events over the summer, we do have one student remaining that needs to be sorted. Mr. Potter, if you could join me.”

Whispers broke out among the students as Harry walked with his chin up towards McGonagall. He sat and the hat was placed on his head. 

"Back again, Mr. Potter?" 

"Just couldn't stay away."

"Are you going to argue again?"

"Not this time." A small chuckle escaped. "But I do have a question."

"And what would that be?"

"Have you ever thought of retirement?"

"No, but that is something to think about."

"Good thing you're a thinking cap!"

"Ha!"

"If we could follow through on your unity message, become one school instead of four houses-"

"I see. Well with a plan like that you'll do best in SLYTHERIN!"

The hall was silent. Harry lifted the Sorting Hat off his head and gave it back to McGonagall. 

“WAY TO GO HARRY!” Fred and George shouted. Harry looked at the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione 

started clapping. Harry smiled and gave a small bow to them. A disjointed clapping and loud whispers filled the Great Hall. He started towards the Slytherin table and noticed movement about a third of the way down the table. Pansy Parkinson was pushing Blaise Zabini over to make space. 

“Hello.” Harry greeted the other fifth years. “May I sit here?” He directed his question to Pansy.

“Yes, join us!” Pansy pulled Harry down onto the seat next to her.

“You better have an explanation, Potter.” Harry looked up and saw Draco Malfoy sitting across the table. 

“All in good time.”

Dumbledore stood and gave the usual announcements about the Forbidden Forest being off limits and new items added to Filch’s banned list. There was polite applause to the announcement that Professor Grubby-Plank would teach Care of Magical Creatures and Professor Umbridge would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry watched with a furrowed brow as Professor Umbridge interrupted Dumbledore and stood to give a simpering speech about observing, preserving, trimming, and perfecting traditions. 

“Why would Dumbledore hire someone from the Ministry intent on interfering?” Harry wondered out loud.

Dumbledore must have announced the beginning of the feast because food appeared on the table. Everyone started loading their plates. “How do you know she’s from the Ministry?” Pansy asked.

“She was at my trial this summer.” Harry heard cutlery drop and clatter.

“Trial?” Pansy raised an eyebrow.

“For underage magic in front of a muggle.” 

“Couldn’t help showing off?” Draco sneered.

"If by showing off you mean get attacked by dementors and have to use a Patronus charm to chase them off before they kissed a muggle, then yes."

"Maybe you should start from the beginning." Blaise chimed in.

"That will take too long, let me sum up." Harry put down his fork. "Two dementors attacked me and my muggle cousin. I used magic to save us. The Ministry expelled me and threatened to snap my wand. I had a trial in front of the entire Wizengamot and was cleared of all charges. Since I was temporarily expelled, I had to be re-sorted. The hat finally got it’s way and put me in Slytherin. Now we're all caught up."

"..."

"Did everyone else have a good summer?"


	5. Chapter 5

"And this is  _ our _ dormitory." Draco finished the tour with a sigh. Pansy had pointed out at the feast that since Draco's Prefect duties including guiding new Slytherins to the common room and dormitories that Draco should show Harry around while she handled the first years herself. 

It hadn’t been much of a tour. Draco had walked off at the end of the feast with a quick “Hurry up, Potter! I’m not going to wait for you.” Harry almost missed him whispering the password (Runespoor) and could barely glance at the common room before Draco led him to the fifth year dormitories.

The room itself was a wide rectangle with three beds on each side. The furniture was the same as in Gryffindor tower, but with green curtains hanging on the four poster beds. The back wall was a giant window looking into the Black Lake, a school of fish darting by. Harry spies his trunk in front of the bed at the end on the left side. 

“Thanks for the tour, Malfoy. It’s been a long day and I think I’d like to wash up and head to bed.” Harry said as he walked to his trunk. The rest of the fifth year boys had caught up and followed into the room. “Can someone point the way to the loo?” Harry opened his trunk with a pop and suddenly he’s pelted with rubber ducks. He’s knocked to the floor and is quickly covered by at least a hundred ducks. 

“Mr. Potter.” A familiar voice drawls. “Care to explain why you’re on the ground under these… things?”

Harry sat up with a sigh to find Professor Snape staring, a single eyebrow up and his lip curled.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any laxatives I could lace into dog biscuits? I need to send Padfoot a thank you for this wonderful welcome present.” Harry deadpanned.

“No.” Professor Snape’s lip curled into a full sneer. “Follow me, Mr. Potter.”

Harry closed his trunk and followed Snape out into the hall and down to his office. 

Snape slammed the door behind them. “Sit.” He casted silently at the door. “We will not be overheard. Explain.”

“You’re in the Order. So you know about the dementors and the trial, right?”

“Correct.”

“Immediately after the dementors, the Ministry expelled me for about 20 minutes before they decided to postpone judgement for the hearing. That apparently was long enough to trigger a re-sort when I became unexpelled.”

“That doesn’t explain why you are in my dungeon.”

“The hat has wanted me in Slytherin for years. We’ve had several nice chats about it, actually.”

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why did you end up in Gryffindor the first time?”

“Because I was a scared little kid!” Harry can’t sit, he paces in front of Snape’s desk. “I only found out I was a wizard on my eleventh birthday, let alone I was famous. Hagrid had to tell me about Voldemort. I was raised to believe my parents died in a car crash. Suddenly magic is  _ real _ , and an evil wizard murdered my parents. The first person that’s ever nice to me tells me only all the evil wizards come from Slytherin. Ollivander waxed poetry about Voldemort being terrible and great. So I panicked when the hat told me that I’d do well in Slytherin, that it would lead me to greatness. So I begged for anywhere else.” Panting like he’d run a marathon, Harry collapsed back into the chair.

Snape stares. 

Harry continues, quietly. “When I got my letter this year and found out about the re-sorting, I wasn’t scared. Gryffindor taught me how to survive, and I’m grateful. But I want to  _ live _ , not just survive. I’m only reacting to Voldemort’s schemes. I want to get ahead of him and  _ win. _ ”

“And you think you can win in Slytherin? How? Spying on your classmates? Are they your enemies?”

“No. I know they aren’t Death Eaters. Voldemort would be incredibly stupid to recruit underage wixen whose magic can be traced. Let alone tell any plans to gossiping teenagers. He’s insane, but he’s not stupid.”

“Then what is your plan?”

“First, listen to the hat. Tonight the hat’s song called for unity between all four houses. The competition between houses has created intense rivalries. We need to find new opportunities for inter-house cooperation. If all the students feel safe and welcome, then they are less likely to join up with a megalomaniac out for power. Second, get the truth out. Misinformation is everywhere. The sooner everyone knows that Voldemort is back the better. Maybe then the Ministry will get off my back, too. Third, learn everything I can about magic so I’m prepared to fight when Voldemort comes after me again, which he will. I’ve pissed him off too much by not dying.”

“Alright.”

“Um, Sir?”

“Sundays at 4pm, we will meet here. Anything discussed here does not leave this room. If anyone asks, you’re here for remedial potions.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you really want to send Black laxatives?” 

“Did you see the rubber ducks?”

Snape summoned a book from across the room. “Take this. Find a recipe and I’ll teach you how to brew it.” 

Harry picked up the book,  _ Common Ailments and Cures _ . “Thank you, sir.” He grins.

“Curfew was 10 minutes ago.” Snape dismissed Harry. 

“Goodnight.”

_____

Harry opens the door to his dormitory and finds absolute mayhem. Blaise is under a bed. Draco and Theo have pushed a dresser over and are hiding behind it. Crabbe and Goyle are standing behind Harry’s bed. All of them are laughing. It’s a three way war. Pillows and ducks are flying through the air and litter the floor. 

“Potter!”

“GET HIM!”

Harry is pelted with rubber ducks, again. 

“Oh, GAME ON!” Harry joins the fray.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry is the first to awaken the next morning. He pulls back his curtains and notes that the rubber ducks are still littering the floor. He whispers a summoning charm and all the ducks fly back to his bed, deciding to save them in case another emergency rubber duck fight is required. Harry checks the time with a tempus and notes with a sigh that breakfast won’t start for another half hour (he still hasn’t broken the habit to wake up early from living with the Dursleys). He dresses and packs his bag and heads to the common room to write a letter to Sirius.

Harry sits on the same tufted leather couch from his first trip to the Slytherin common room during second year when Ron and him snuck in with polyjuice to spy on Malfoy. The large window to under the lake creates a soft and soothing green glow in the room. A small fire crackles in the large stone fireplace. Several alcoves line the walls with tables and chairs for quiet studying. A large portrait hangs over one of the couches with Salazar Slytherin etched in a plate in elegant script. 

Pansy joins him on the couch just as he’s finishing his letter to Sirius. She’s bleary eyed and mumbling curses under her breath about early morning Prefect duties. Harry looks at the grandfather clock by the notice board and sees it’s just after 7am. “Coffee?” he offers.

“Please.” Pansy holds out her arms. 

Harry gets up and slings his bag over his shoulder. Then he hauls Pansy off the couch into a standing position. “Do you need to be carried?” 

Pansy gives a halfhearted smack to his arm in retaliation. “Just guide me so I don’t run into any walls.”

“As you wish.” He puts his arm through Pansy’s and they make the short trek to the Great Hall. Once they arrived at the Slytherin table Pansy dramatically dove for the coffee. 

Harry carefully doctored his own cup of coffee with plenty of cream and sugar. He had started sneaking coffee from the Dursleys when he was 9 after several bouts of (what he now knew to be) accidental magic led to several instances of getting locked in his cupboard with no food. Harry learned he could get through all his chores if he had enough sugar and caffeine. A quick survey of the hall revealed a few Hufflepuffs and one Ravenclaw sitting at their respective tables. Harry and Pansy were the only Slytherins and no Gryffindors had arrived yet. 

Harry pulled out his copy _Defensive Magical Theory_ to read while sipping his coffee. The book was so dull that he read the same page paragraph three times without comprehending any of it. He gave it up as a lost cause when a charmed paper plane hit him on the nose. He opened it to find Hermione’s handwriting with only the word “EAT” underlined. Looking up he quickly found Hermione sitting with Ron and Ginny at the Gryffindor table. She stared at him until Harry picked up a small bunch of grapes and lifted it in the air before picking one off and eating it. 

“What is that about?” Blaise’s voice came from Harry’s left. Harry looked at his immediate surroundings and found several of his classmates were now sitting next to him and Pansy.

“When did you all get here?”

“While you were glaring daggers at your book.”

“What do you expect? It’s offensively boring. I can’t imagine anything useful in the new Defense book if the first chapter is anything to go by.”

Pansy snatched the note out of Harry’s hand. “Why do you need a reminder to eat?”

“Give me that!” Harry summoned it back. “Just because Hermione fancies herself a mother hen at times doesn’t mean the rest of _you lot_ need to be involved.” 

"But why-"

Professor Snape’s drawl for once was a welcome interruption. "Here are your schedules. Now get to class." 

_________

Really he should have expected this. Harry's day was going surprisingly well, which obviously cannot be allowed in the laws of magic. Herbology with the Ravenclaws had been filled with a fascinating series of increasingly odd questions including if feeding the venomous tentacula marshmallows would cause it to dance the hula. Professor Snape completely ignored Harry during potions which meant he actually brewed a passable invigorating draught. At lunch Pansy declared that Harry was her new goodwill project and she was going to find a way to style his hair so it didn't look like a family of owls lived in it. (He wished her best of luck with this declaration.) Trelawny spent so much time waxing poetics about Jupiter's position to Venus causing wine and mead to mature faster that she forgot to predict Harry's death. So he really should have expected Defense Against the Dark Arts to be a flaming pile of dragon dung. 

Maybe Hermione could be blamed for pointing out that the class aims didn’t say anything about using magic and causing the rest of their classmates to panic. Maybe Umbridge could be blamed for baiting him by her asking if they thought they would be attacked in a classroom. She could have honestly not known and thought she was asking a rhetorical question, but given Harry’s history…

“Well it wouldn’t be the first time. Last year alone ‘Professor Moody’ imperized each of us so we would know what it felt like.”

“Wha-”

“And that was only inside the classroom! All our Defense professors attacked me outside of class.”

“That’s en-”

"Two of them tried to kill me.”

“DETENTION! Tonight, 7 o’clock. One more lie, Mr. Potter and it will be every night this week.”

So really it was Harry's fault for not keeping his mouth shut. At least he stopped before bringing up Voldemort. Right now most of the Slytherins pretended he didn't exist. Pansy and Blaise were friendly enough, but he felt like he was in a marathon staring contest with the rest of the fifth years. Harry knew if he mentioned Voldemort it would be like he blinked first and anyone that had family in that graveyard the night Voldemort came back could be a potential enemy. He didn't want that. Harry imagined the Slytherins as a frog that needed boiling and Harry was the water. If Harry started off too strong they would flee. But if Harry could slowly get them use to him, see that he's not out to attack them, then he could tell them the truth about Voldemort's insanity. Maybe he could show them another way. Harry didn’t want followers for himself, but he did need to stop Voldmort from gaining any new ones if he could help it.


	7. Chapter 7

“I want you to write ‘ _ I must not tell lies _ ,’” she told him softly. 

“How many times?” Harry asked, with a creditable imitation of politeness.

“Oh, as long as it takes for the message to  _ sink in _ ,” said Umbridge sweetly.

-Order of the Phoenix, page 266

______________

Harry could not leave his detention fast enough. He was out the door and halfway down the corridor before he realized he wasn't alone.

"Potter! Will you stop?  _ Potter! _ " 

Harry stopped and fumbled quickly inside his bag. He managed to grab a handkerchief and quickly wrap it around his hand as the footsteps hurried closer. 

“Why aren’t you back in the dorms yet?” Draco huffed, slightly out of breath from chasing Harry.

“Just finished detention.”

“Now? It’s midnight.”

Harry had been slicing his own hand repeatedly for five hours, no wonder he was sore. “Well I wasn’t there because of her pleasant personality or gossiping over tea.” Harry rolled his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Draco straightened his shoulders, “Prefect duties. It’s my responsibility to patrol.”

“Don’t student patrols end at 11?”

“Yes.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. 

“Alright. Pansy sent me to make sure you didn’t get lost.”

“Good boy.” Harry patted Draco’s shoulder and started walking towards a secret passage that led towards the dungeons.

“EXCUSE me!”

“It feels good to tell the truth, right? Be honest.”

“You’re insane.”

“Ah, you read the Prophet then?”

“Maybe I should just leave you here for Filch to find after all.”

“I know my way around, may I should just leave you behind.” Harry spun to face Draco and continued walking backwards

“You’re not even going the right way!”

“A race then! First to the common room wins!”

“What are the stakes?”

“An honest answer to any question the winner wants?”

“You’re on.” Draco spun on his heel and marched towards the main staircase. 

Harry quickly ducked behind a tapestry, ran down the secret passage that led to the kitchens, turned at the suit of armor. He slowed as he neared the entrance to the common room and steadied his breathing. “Runespoor,” Harry whispered. Pansy and Blaise were sitting on one of the couches, school books spread between them. They looked up as he walked into the common room.

“Hey! How did detention go? Did Draco find you?” Pansy asked.

Harry flopped down on the couch across from them, facing away from the entrance. “I wrote lines for five hours. The last detention I had that lasted that long was addressing Lockhart’s fanmail after driving into the whomping willow.”

“That’s tough, but at least it’s only lines.” Blaise said.

Harry let out a soft chuckle and rolled his eyes to avoid looking at his wrapped hand. “Right.”

The entrance opened and Draco strode in, “Pansy! Blaise! This is going to be-” He froze with his mouth open and he looked at the couch and saw Harry lounging.

“Hello, we meet again.” Harry grinned.

“How did you do that? You must have cheated somehow.” Draco accused.

“No cheating. But if you’re a good boy I’ll tell you how I got here.”

Draco glared.

“Now I believe since you arrived after me, that I won the bet.”

“What bet?” Blaise interjected. 

“Right.”

“What bet?”

“Hmmm, I need to make this good. I don’t want to waste this.” Harry tapped his chin. “What’s your favorite quidditch team?”

“That’s what you want to know? You could ask me  _ anything _ , and you ask me about quidditch?”

“Yes, and you agreed to answer honestly.”

“Appleby Arrows, if you must know.”

“I must, and to show my appreciation I’ll tell you how I got back faster. You know the tapestry of the cornucopia down the fourth floor corridor? Behind it is a passage that takes you by the kitchens. Very useful to know when Dean and Seamus have the munchies after curfew.”

Draco stared with his mouth open. Pansy leaned over to Blaise and asked in a hushed voice, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“No.”

“And on that note, I’m beat. Goodnight!” Harry got up and walked back to his dorm to get ready for bed. After putting away his books and changing into his pajamas, he headed to the bathroom. Carefully, he unwrapped his hand and cleaned it.

It wouldn’t stop bleeding. The words “I must not tell lies” slowly weeped blood from his hand. 

“Bollocks.” Harry wrapped his hand with a clean bandage. He went to bed hoping things would be better in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

_ The pearly overcast sky stretched open above as he flew over and around empty stands. A flash of gold on the opposite side of the stadium catches Harry’s eye. As he races over the grass another broom and seeker pull up on his left. They get closer to the snitch, both reaching out a hand to catch it. From the right a silver hand reaches out with a wand.  _

_ “Kill the spare.” _

_ As Cedric and Harry touch the snitch, a voice cries out. “Avada Kedrava!” _

_ Harry falls into darkness, alone in a narrow corridor. Light on his feet, he makes his way down the corridor until he’s standing in front of a door with no handle. With no way to open the door, Harry sits down with his back to it and hides his face in his knees.  _

______________

Harry wipes the tears from his face before pulling back his curtains to start the day. In the shower he gently scrubs the blood off his hand. The words are gone, but the skin is raw and a bit oozy. He finds Pansy half asleep in the common room and drags her up to the Great Hall for breakfast. A routine in the making for sure as he prepares coffee for them both.

Tension slowly builds as the day trudges on. Harry feels like he’s under a microscope during Transfiguration and History of Magic as the Hufflepuffs silently watch him. Ron tells him during the afternoon lesson in Care of Magical Creatures about the row between him and Seamus. 

“Seamus said both you and Dumbledore were cracked and it was a good thing you went to Slytherin. That it was only a matter of time before you went Dark.” Ron sighed. “He was bang out of order, mate. And I told him, too. Reminded him that Merlin was a Slytherin and we can all hear Seamus screaming his name when he ‘forgets’ his silencing charms.”

Hermione and Harry burst out laughing, spooking the bowtruckle into taking a swipe at Harry’s hand before fleeing into the forest. 

“Bugger.” Harry hissed and peaked at his hand. Luckily the bowtruckle gash missed the raw spot. He quickly hid his hands in his robes. “So when do you think Hagrid will be back?”

______________

It’s halfway through dinner, and Harry lets the idle chatter of the Slytherin’s wash over him. Not quite ready to jump into conversation, but answers when a question is directed at him. He glances at the Gryffindor table and sees Hermione wave her speared potato at him, a subtle (for Hermione) reminder that yes, Harry does need to eat. He’s about to dig back into his own meal when Neville catches his eye and jerks towards the door. Harry nods and gets up to meet him outside the hall.

Neville watches his feet as they head to an empty classroom. “How’s the new house treating you?”

“None of them have tried to murder me. I wish I could say the same about our past professors.”

“Your bar is really low, Harry.” Neville shakes his head. “But it’s really true. How are you not miserable all the time?”

Harry shrugs. “You get used to it.”

“That’s absolutely terrible, but not what I wanted to talk to you about.” 

Harry ushers them into the classroom, locks the door and puts up privacy spells. 

Neville looks Harry in the eye. “First, the good. I wanted you to know that you have my support. Gran cancelled our subscription for the Prophet after all the slander against you and Dumbledore. She’s supported the Headmaster for years and she’s not going to stop now. So whatever you have planned, I’m in if you’ll have me. Even if you aren’t planning yet, I know you won’t sit idly by with You-Know-Who out there and the Ministry invading here.”

“Thanks, Nev! I really appreciate-”

“Wait, you haven’t heard the bad.”

“You mean more than Voldemort back from the not-dead and the Ministry being a shit waffle?”

“Yeah, in addition to  _ that _ , there’s a rumour going around.”

“When is there not a rumour?”

“I heard it from Hannah that someone, she won’t say who so don’t ask me, in their common room last night was blaming you for Cedric dying. That you did some dark magic in the maze that night, killed Cedric, and then blamed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named so you wouldn’t go to Azkaban.”

“That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, and I listened to Fred and George fart dog barks for two hours while they were testing more of their Wheezes this summer.”

“I know it’s dumb, but it’s gaining traction with the Hufflepuffs and soon it will probably be all over the school.”

“What am I supposed to do, Nev? I don’t have any proof that Voldemort’s back other than a nasty scar on my arm and some fucked up dreams. I can shout from the rooftops that he’s back until I’m blue in the face, but no one that doesn’t already know isn’t going to believe me.” 

“Does anyone know about you and Cedric?” Neville asks quietly.

“What do - how - what?” Harry sputters. “What do you think you know?”

“I saw you together. One night, during winter hols, I was coming back late from doing extra credit in the greenhouses. I saw you two leaving the prefect’s bathroom looking pretty cozy. I saw Cedric kiss you goodnight.”

“Fuck. No one was supposed to know. He was helping me with that egg clue, remember that horrible wailing? And he was already official with Cho by then. It was an accident. It was just that one night, and we didn’t do anything more than kiss. We just got caught up in the excitement.” Harry rubs his face. “Neville, you can’t tell anyone.”

“On my magic, I won’t say anything about it without your permission.” Neville pats Harry’s shoulder. 

“Thanks.” Harry smirks. “Is that it? Anymore tidbits you need to tell me?” 

“Merlin, that’s it. I’m done.”

“Good.” Harry checks his watch. “Dinner’s over, do you want to stop in the kitchens? I need to eat something before Hermione sends a howler.”

“I could eat some pudding.” Neville perks up. “And I’ll bring extra back to the tower for Hermione as proof.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!! Sorry for the late update! Apparently a guaranteed way to get writers block is to say out loud you have a plan. So I'm going to declare here that I have no idea what I'm doing. I just hope you all like my crazy ideas and that this makes some kind of sense. Feedback is always appreciated. You can always request something, but I can't make promises it will make the cut.


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